Today we joined the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) in releasing a national survey that found a majority (62%) of Americans want to see their state accept federal dollars offered by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to cover more uninsured people through Medicaid.

The survey also found that a majority (70%) are concerned about the “coverage gap” that would be created in states that rejected the Medicaid option as some residents would earn too much to be covered under current Medicaid levels but too little to qualify for premium tax credits to purchase coverage on the health insurance exchanges. Our research also found that 27% of the respondents feared that they may personally fall into that coverage gap.

To me, this research indicates that the public gets it.  They understand how inherently unfair it would be for a group of hard-working people to be left out of coverage simply because they happened to live in a state where the elected officials turned down the federal Medicaid money.

Our findings show many respondents feel a personal stake in the decision their state will be making on the Medicaid option.  A majority (55%) said they have a close friend or family member who is uninsured and, as I have already mentioned, a substantial number feel personally vulnerable to falling into the coverage gap if their state doesn’t move forward on Medicaid.

The survey was conducted by Michael Perry at his new firm Perry Undem Research/Communication.